Re: [Callers] ideal contra tunes

120 bpm is generally considered normal - but one of my best dance experiences ever, with the band "Old Grey Goose" left me both feeling sublime, and realizing their tempos were on average a little lower than i was used to. Ralph Sweet has a great thought about tempo - the idea that, based on the length of the average human leg, there is a frequency of motion at which the least force is expended to set it swinging (imagining the dancer's leg as a pendulum)... And i suppose that, like everything about dance music and calling, what is ideal really depends upon the dancers present. Suffice it to say i've had great experiences as a dancer around 118, but when i'm really "into" a tune on the fiddle, it's easy to warp up to 126 without realizing it. As a fiddler new to playing for dancers, if your technique on notey reels is up to snuff, it's easy to get carried away and confuse "energy" with speed - sometimes the hardest thing is slowing down. On the dance floor that confusion never happens, fast is just fast... and less enjoyable to dance. Hence my making a somewhat conservative suggestion. tavi